Thankfully, for the humorous and humorless alike, there’s a new show – the Flight of the Conchords, which is funny, smart, and entertaining. And hopefully it will serve as a remedy to all of you sourpusses out there. Of course, for those of you who do have a sense of humor and appreciate, as well as understand, your fellow slap-happy, slyly funny comrades, this show is just one extra treat that can be added to your endless and ever-growing collection of humorous things.

What’s the show about?

Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, a quirky musical duo, have brought their parodic folk band from New Zealand to the U.S. The two musicians have turned their previous stage show into a television series, which is available on DVD and also airs on HBO. Set in NYC, the show follows the two folk artists, Bret and Jemaine, as they struggle to succeed in the music industry.

Given the subject matter, NYC is the perfect location, a city that brutally demystifies the dreams and aspirations of most artists (much like L.A. crushes teems of hopeful, fresh, young actors). After hiring an incompetent manager (Rhys Darby), whose “real job” is with the New Zealand Consulate, Bret and Jemaine fumble to get “gigs,” buy food, and so on.

Although it’s a parodic take about two struggling musicians, FOC’s satire functions more broadly. Borrowing from wide-ranging and thematic concepts from their original songs, the duo cleverly undermines commonly held assumptions and inverts concerns related to broad ranging social problems, all the while seamlessly incorporating peculiar, goofy, one-of-a-kind topics. Read More »